Dec. 11, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University basketball team rallied in the second half to post a 68-60 non-conference victory against the UT Arlington Mavericks on Saturday in a matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Despite trailing by 45-37 with 11:32 to play, Samford (6-4) used clutch 3-point shooting from Josh Bedwell, John Peterson and Andy King to battle back for the 68-60 victory. The Bulldogs outscored the Mavericks 31-15 to close out the game and knocked down seven 3-point baskets in the final 11:20 of play.

"This was a good win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "UT Arlington is a scary team to play. They are extremely athletic and they can make shots. They play hard and they changed defenses a lot. They got up by eight points against us in the second half, but I thought that when we switched to the 1-3-1 zone it really threw them off kilter and took them out of rhythm."

Samford finished with four players scoring in double figures for the second time this season and improved to 5-0 when at least three Bulldogs score in double figures. Jeffrey Merritt and King paced the team with 13 points apiece, while Bedwell added 11 and Peterson chipped in with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting.

King, Samford's senior center from Omaha, Neb., turned in his best game of the season Saturday and registered season-highs in points (13), rebounds (5), assists (5) and 3-point field goals (3). King proved to be the Bulldogs' key performer down the stretch as he knocked down all three of his 3-point field goals in a row.

With less than four minutes left to play and Samford trailing 53-51, King drained his first 3-point basket of the game to give the Bulldogs a 54-53 advantage. He then connected on back-to-back attempts to increase Samford's lead to 60-53 with 2:12 remaining in the game.

"I was able to get on a roll there in the second half," said King. "I missed my first three shots of the game, but they were all good looks and the coaches always tell me to keep shooting and I'll find my stroke. I was able to get really good looks in the second half and they fell for me. My number one focus was my energy on defense and I thought we did a better job of rebounding down the stretch."

After King's heroics, UT Arlington (5-3) would get no closer than five points down as the Bulldogs upped their lead for a final 68-60 decision.

The Mavericks finished with three players scoring in double figures and were led by LaMarcus Reed's 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. Darius Richardson followed with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds, while Bradley Gay added 10 points and three rebounds.

Samford's Bedwell got hot in the second half and tallied nine of his 11 points in the final period. During the Bulldogs' key stretch, he drained a trio of 3-point baskets within a five-minute span. Samford's native of Hartselle, Ala., finished the game 4-of-9 from the field and added three assists and a trio of steals.

"Andy King and Josh Bedwell were able to knock down some really good shots for us," said Tillette. "Andy King really played a great game for us and Gaby Bermudez played really well because we were missing Gregg Wooten with a stomach virus. I think that it was a good week for us and this was a good win."

Peterson came off the bench to score 10 points and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed two rebounds in 21 minutes of play.

Senior forward Josh Davis led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds. Samford's native of Lubbock, Texas, also handed out four assists and grabbed a pair of steals.

Samford quickly jumped out to a 19-4 advantage in Saturday's game, but UT Arlington consistently chipped away at the lead until Gay's running 3-pointer at the buzzer evened the halftime score at 30-30.

The Bulldogs shot 48 percent from the field in the opening half and finished with a 45.1-percent mark for the game. Heading into the contest, UT Arlington was the eighth-ranked team in the nation in field-goal percentage defense and was only allowing opponents to shoot 35.6 percent from the field.

The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their four-game homestand versus the Asbury University Eagles at the Pete Hanna Center.